What is Islam?

What is Islam?

The literal meaning of Islam is peace; surrender of one’s will i.e. losing oneself for the sake of Almighty God and surrendering one’s own pleasure for the pleasure of God the Almighty. A follower of islam is known as a Muslim which literally means one who surrenders to the will of God.The message of Islam was revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings on him) 1, 400 years ago. It was revealed through the angel Gabriel (on whom be peace) and was thus preserved in the Holy Qur’an. The Holy Qur’an carries a Divine guarantee of safeguard from interpolation and it claims that it combines the best features of the earlier scriptures.

The prime message of Islam is the Unity of God, that the Creator of the world is One and He alone is worthy of worship and that Muhammad (peace and blessings on him) is His Messenger and Servant. The follower of this belief is thus a Muslim - a Muslim’s other beliefs are: God’s angels, prev

iously revealed Books of God, all the prophets, from Adam to Jesus (peace be on them both), the Day of Judgement and indeed the Decree of God. A Muslim has five main duties to perform, namely; bearing witness to the Unity of God and Muhammad (peace and blessings on him) as His Messenger, observing the prescribed prayer, payment of Zakat, keeping the fasts of the Holy month of Ramadhan and performing the pilgrimage to Mecca. Islam believes that each person is born pure. The Holy Qur’an tells us that God has given human beings a choice between good and evil and to seek God’s pleasure through faith, prayer and charity.

by: Amir Shahzad
Software Engineer and Research Analyst.